Back to School Breakfast Ideas

Anyone who knows me well is aware that mornings are not my favorite time of day.

It isn't that I don't love a good sunrise -- I do -- but getting me up to see it is a task and a half.  And had better include a serious cup of coffee.

With the back to school season fast approaching at our house, I find myself thinking about how to better manage a nutritious breakfast for The Peanut.  Because it occurs in the early morning hours -- she has to be to school well before 8 am every day -- I always feel like we are scrambling to get anything decent into her before we go running out our door.

When you add the fact that I'll be teaching library this year on Wednesdays, which will require that I get my own rear end ready and out the door all the earlier?  You see where I'm going, here, right?

So I'm trying to put together some ideas on healthy, yet quick-ish and easy, breakfast ideas.  No one wants to be sitting in class with a rumbly in their tumbly -- especially if they are the teacher and supposed to be the grown-up in the room.

So, in no particular order, here are some of the ideas I've used in the past.  Some of these The Peanut is not so happy to eat, some she loves, so YMMV with your own kids.  But I wasn't just making a "kid-friendly" list because moms and dads have to eat, too.  In any case, here are a few ideas that have worked well in our house:


--  Breakfast burrito consisting of some scrambled eggs (usually one whole egg and a couple of whites), some reduced-fat shredded sharp cheddar, and a little salsa rolled in a whole grain tortilla.  Portable for munching in the car (although I usually leave out the salsa if I'm eating it that way and just use a little hot sauce instead so I don't get it all over me on the way somewhere.)

-- Myoplex Lite Cinnamon Roll Crisp breakfast bars. I think these are seriously yummy and the ultimate in convenience when I'm insanely rushed.

-- What I call "egg bake," which is essentially a crustless quiche with eggs, milk, cheese, sometimes ham, and whatever veggies I have in the crisper drawer or the freezer that will work all baked together in one big mishmash of morning yummy.  The great thing about this stuff is you make it the night before and then it reheats well in the microwave.  Our favorite combo to date is some finely diced ham, reduced fat  shredded sharp cheddar, some thawed and mostly cooked frozen potatoes O'Brian (the small dice ones with onion and bell pepper), and a bit of broccoli florets, also thawed and cooked a bit.  You can also make this as individual breakfast egg servings in a muffin tin, you just have to shorten the cooking time, so watch carefully to cook through -- but not overcook.

-- Homemade muffins are awesome.  Especially if you have bananas that are about to go south.  I tend to have those regularly, so we eat muffins quite a bit.  I like to use whole wheat flour, some flaxmeal, oat bran and rolled oats in mine so they have lots of healthy fiber and stick with me longer.  Pair a homemade muffin with a part-skim cheese stick and you have a decent and quick meal that will last you a few hours.

-- Frozen whole grain waffles, toasted, and topped with fruit, applesauce, some part skim ricotta and a little maple syrup.  Seriously yummy.  Also good with peanut butter and strawberries, depending on what you have on hand.

-- Take a high fiber English muffin, split it and toast well.  Top with some peanut butter and some sliced banana.  Yummmm.

-- Take the same high fiber English muffin, top with some scrambled egg, a little cheese, a slice of tomato and some guacamole.  Also divine.

-- Rolled oats, cooked with water and a splash of milk.  I do mine in the microwave and it's pretty quick in the morning.  Then add some vanilla whey protein powder and a dollop of peanut butter to get a good protein/healthy carb combo.  This one also stays with you all morning.  And I love, love, LOVE oatmeal.

Would love ideas from other folks on what you do to make your morning more manageable.  Especially if you have some ideas for kid-friendly meals.  We tend to devolve into cheerios and a yogurt here, because The Peanut doesn't take up the whole morning grousing about not wanting to eat it.  But I'd like a little more variety for her, so I'm all ears on any ideas that have worked for you!

(Photo via elycefeliz.  Thought the nibbling squirrel framed by the coffee mug handle was a brilliant vantage point for this shot.  Bravo!)